Grease dispensing apparatus



May 24, 1932. E. w. DAVIS Y 1,359,290.

' GREASE DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 9, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 24, 1932. E. w. DAVIS 1,359,290

' GREASE DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Oct, 9, 1929 I e Sheets-Sheet 2 May 24, 1932. E. w. DAVIS GREASE DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 9, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 24; 1932. E. w. DAVIS 1,359,290

GREASE DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 9, 1929 e sheets-sheet 4 E. W. AVIS May 24, 193 2.

GREASE DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed 0d. 9. 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented May 24, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ERNEST W, DAVIS, OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ALEMITE CORPORATION,

OI? CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE GREASE DISPENSING APPARATUS Application filed October 9, 1929. Serial No. 398,323.

My invention relates generally to dispens- I ing apparatus for plastic and semifluid materials such as greases, pastes and analogous substances, and more particularly to anew and improved type'of apparatus for discharging such materials at intermittent in;

tervals under high pressure.

It is an object of my invention to provide a pedal operation mechanism for accom plishing the above objects.

A further object is to provide in a device of the type specified a revolvable spiral conveyor for advancing'the material to be discharged. a

A further object is to provide in a device of the type specified arevolvable spiral conveyor for advancing the material and an auxiliary booster for discharging same under .a high pressure.

A further object of my invention is to provide in a device of the type specified a new and improved method of discharging the material through the use of intermeshing spiral conveyors. a A further object of my invention is to provide .a new and improved motor driven device of the type specified.

A further object is to provide in a motor driven device of the type specified new and 'im prove'd means for automatically controlling the operation of the discharging mechanism.

-A further object of my invention'is to pro vide a new and improved type of lubricant 33 container" adapted to be used with my dispensing apparatus.

' A further object of my invention is to provide a containerfor grease or other materials having vanes and scrapers for loosening the material therein to accelerate its discharge.

()t'ner objects and advantages will appear more fully from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of my improved pedal operated grease dispenser;

Fig. 2 is a plan sectional View taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentaryfront elevationalview with a part of the foot pedal broken away to better show its associated parts;

Fig. 4 is a somewhat diagrammatic vertical cross-sectional view of my improved motor operated grease dispenser, the top portion of the grease chamber being broken off and not shown;

Fig. 5 is a plan sectional View taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational View taken generally on the line 66 of Fig. 4, with parts broken away to show other parts; i

Fig. 7 is similar to and is a reduced elevational View of the grease dispenser shown in Fig. 4, the top. part thereof being in crosssection, with a grease container mounted thereon;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentar plan section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. I

Fig. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a modified form of dispenser;

. Fig. 10 is a plan sectional view taken on line'10"-10 of Fig. 9;and

Fig. 11 is a lan sectional view taken on line 11-11 of *ig. 9. r

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings I have shown a grease dispenser provided with a bifurcated base 22 and a cylindrical chamber 24 having a funnel-shaped throat or opening 26. The base 22 has flanges and apertures for fastening the dispenser securely in place if desired, but

the base as illustrated is so designed that under ordinary conditions it need not be secured to the foundation upon which it're'sts Chamber 24 is provided with a substantially fiat bottom 28. A boss 30, cast integral therewith,'- extends downwardly therefrom and provides a bearing for a central shaft 34 extending up through the dispenser, and also a housing. for packing 32 and gland 36 which surround said shaft. A thr'ustcollar 38 pinned .to shaft 34, limits its downward movement and at its-upper end a reducedportion' 40 thereof, positioned in a. suitable bearing bracket 42, prohibits upward movement and affords lateral support therefor.

A plurality of agitators-or paddle wheels 44 are rigidly mounted on shaft 34, spaced 4mences 'at a point slightly below the upper cylindrical edge of chamber 24 and extends downward to a point near the lower end of said chamber where a port 50 communicates with, a high pressure measuring and discharge cylinder 52. An accumulator chamber 54 is located adjacent the discharge cylinder and also" communicates with chamber 24.

A pedal operated plunger 56 is mounted in discharge cylinder 52 for reciprocatory movement and is .provided with an operating rod 58 extending down through an end cap 60 which effectively closes the lower end of Discharge cylinder 52 is provided with an outlet port 62 near its upper end. A spring pressed check valve 64 overlies-this port and is carried by a union 66 screwthreaded into cross shaft 82 carried by the base a boss 68 carried by the cylinder 52. A con duit 70 is attached to union 66 by means of the coupling bushing 68 through which the grease may be delivered to a grease gun or any other suitable grease discharging element.

The grease expelling means will now be pinned to the lower end of shaft 34 below the bottom wall of the dispenser chamber 24, the teeth or notches 74 thereon facin downwardly. A pawl 76 carried by an ofl set arm resiliently held in engagement with the ratchet plate. Arm 78 is a part of and extends at right angles from afoot operated lever 80 which'is pivotally mounted upon a member22.

1 An extension 84 of the bperating lever expair of tends forward and has an elongated slot 86. A pin '88 fastened in the lower end of plunger rod-58 passes through {slot 86 and forms a pivotal connection between operating lever 80 and rod 58.. A pedal portion 90 is formed at the opposite end of. operating lever '80. A tension spring'92 is connected between a lugs formed on the foot lever and on the outer wall of chamber 24,- respectively,

and normally holds the lever in the position shown in ig. 1. 8

92 draws it back to cylinder 52 and also serves as a bearing for- Accumulator cylinder 54 is cast inte ral with chamber 24 and is provided wit 'a plungerv 94 and a compression spring 96. A cap 98 closes the end of the cylinder and also provides a seat for spring 96 and a guide orcplunger stem 100. -pin 102 dr ven throu h the cylinder wall is: a front limit stop f or plunger 94.

shaped portion '26 of the dispenser. Downward movement of foot pedal 90 will cause pawl 76 to advance and engage a tooth 74, and when thefoot pedal is release'd spring its original position. Theshaft 34 is rotated through a small angle by the pawl and ratchet upon each operation of the pedal and through the blades 46 and spiral conveyor 48 grease is impelled downwardly to prime the high pressure cylinder 52.

It will be noted that operation of foot lever 80 will also cause plunger 56 through rod 58 to be reciprocated in cylinder 52. Thus any grease discharged into cylinder 52 will be forced out through port 62 past check valve 64 and into conduit under extremely high pressure. As port 50 will beclosed during a large portion of the time conveyor 48 is being revolved, the grease being carried downward by the conveyor will be subject to a certain amount of pressure until port 50 is uncovered. This ,operates as a positive charging means for accumulator cylinder 54. As grease is advanced below the IOWBIXCOII'. veyor blade, plunger 94 will recede, allowin cylinder 54 partially to y when port 50 is uncovered compression spring 96 will operate to discharge the grease into cylinder 52.

I'nFigs. 41to 8, inclusive, I -have illustrated a modified form of my invention wherein fill with grease, an

In operation, grease is placed in the-funnelmotor poweris employed to operate the de- I have shown a similar grease dis- 124 normally closed by check stantiallysimilar to the one'previously described. a v

A bevel gear 127 is rigidly secured to the lower end of shaft 116 and power to operate the grease dispenser is furnished by a motor 128 which drives bevel gear 130,-meshingwith said gear 127 and mounted on shaft 132,

through a suitable, speed reduction gearing contained in housing 134 and through a friction clutch 136.- Shaft 132 is mounted in bearings 138 integral with cross ribs 140 cast in base 106. A peripheral cam 142 is rigidly directly beneath plungersecured to shaft 132 rod 144 which passes through cap 146 and is part of plunger 122. A hardened head 148 is screw threaded into the lower end of rod 144 to provide an adjustment for the limits of'the plunger stroke and also to take the wear occasioned by cam 142. A compression spring 150 is disposed around rod 144 between head 148 and cap 146,'causing head 148 to be at all times in engagement with cam 142.

A T 152, which carries valve 126, is attached to boss 154 near the .upper end of cylinder 120 in line with outlet port 124. A

' flexible conduit 156 is attached to the T by means of a suitable coupling bushing 158 and connects at its other end with a valved grease gun 160 orany other grease discharging element in which suitable manually operable valve means are provided to control the discharge of-the lubricant.

A second conduit 162 extends from T 152 to an automatic clutch release mechanism, being connected by suitable coupling bushings 164 and 166.

The automatic clutch release mechanism includes a pair of cylindrical'chambers 168 and 170 having spring pressed plungers 176 and 196 mounted therein and they may be located at any point adjoining shaft 132. and or convenience in this embodiment of my invention I have shown chambers 168 and 170 disposed at right angles to each other and situated in an ofiset housing portion 172 of the grease dispenser body 104.

Chamber 168 is closed at its lower end by a cylinder head 17 4 into which conduit bushing 166 is screw threaded. A valve operating plunger 17 6 is mounted for reciprocable movement in this chamber andis normally held against the cylinder head 174 by means of compression spring 178. A plunger rod 180 attached to plunger 17 6 extends upward through the'upper chamber wall and has a sidewardly extending arm 182 secured therecylinder head 200.

the plunger extends outwardly through the to and engaging a notch 184 in a slide valve 186. Valve 186 has a similar notch 188 located near its lower end and diametrically opposite the notch 184, and also has anannular groove 190 near its lower end. The

. valve proper consists of a rod notched and grooved as described, positioned in a bore 192 in housing portion 172 for reciprocatory movement. A conduit 215 through suitable couplings connects bore 192 with the upper end of container 104.

A passageway 194 connects valve operating chamber 168 and clutchoperating chamber 170. The latter contains a plunger 196, compression spring 198, and is closed by a A rod 202 attached to cylinder head and is pivotally connected to a clutch operating lever 204. This lever is pivotally mounted upon a pill 206 carried by an arm 208 extending downward from the housing portion 172.

Clutch' operating lever 204 is forked at its lower end and carries rollers engaging a clutch collar 210 rotatably mounted on shaft 132 and securely attached to clutch cone 212. A compression spring 214 normally causes the clutch cone and cup 211 to be frictionallyengaged, thereby driving the dis-.

penser.

In the operation of the motor driven dispenser, it is possible that grease may be pumped through conduit 156 into grease gun 160 more rapidly than it is being used by the operator. In this event the grease passes through conduit 162 into'chamber 168 forcing piston 176 upwardly. When chamber 168 is nearly filled, Valve 186 will be raised by side arm 182 -and continued flow of grease passes through passageway 194 and annular groove 190 into cylinder 170, advancing piston 196'to withdraw clutch cone 212 from driving engagement with the clutch cup 211,

thereby stopping the operation of the .dispenser. Continued withdrawal of grease spring 178, expelling grease through conduit 162. Arm 182 rides down in notch 184 of valve 186 until it strikes the. lower end thereof and presses valve 186 down, allowing passageway 194 to communicate with notch 188,

through which grease in chamber 170 may .be expelled and discharged into container 104 through conduit 215, allowing piston 196 to recede and the clutch members to engage to again couple the driving means to the dispenser.

A novel grease container 216 (Fig. 7) -having its upper end open, is inverted and placed allows piston 176 to be forced downward by in a discharging position upon the funnelshaped end of the dispenser. The container is provided with a scraping device 218 having several blades 220. Theseblades are vertically disposed against the inner periphery of the container and attached at their upper and lower ends to spiders 222. f

A vertical centrally disposed rod 224 provides a support for the spiders and is rotatably mounted in a bearing 226 attached to the bottom of the container and is supported at its other end by hub 227-. 4 Hub 227 is provided with a square aperture 229 to receive the square shank 231 of coupler 230, which in turn is secured to the shaft 116 of the dispenser. This soraping device operates to base plate 234- which is provided with belt holes 238 for rigidly fastening the dispenser to a foundation or truck, if desired.

The dispenser chamber 240 is substantially in the form of two intersecting similar cones having a commonapex and divergent axes. This chamber houses the grease impelling devices 242and 244, comprising blades 272 and conveyor screws 274, 276, the shafts 242, 244 of which are journalled at their lower ends in sockets 246 and 248 in the bottom wall of the dispenser, and at their upper ends'in suitable bearings in a top plate 250. -Above the top plate 250 bevet gears 252 and 254 are fixedly secured to the shafts, meshing with gears 256 and 258 secured to a cross rod 260. Cross rod 260 is journalled in two bearin s 262 and 264, secured to the upper surface 0 top plate 250. An operating handle 266 is fastened to the outer end of cross rod 260.

A-cover 268 mounted on a hinge 270 covers the operating Imechanism and also the dis,

penser chambers. The grease impellers are provided with inclined paddles or blades 272 shown intermeshing in this embodiment but they may be spaced in-any other manner so that adownward pressure will' be exerted upon the material in the dispenser chamber when the impellers are rotated. The lower portions 274and 276 are'enlarged right and left hand screw conveyor portions, so arranged that they intermesh and may be revolved in opposite directions without unmeshing. These screwconveyor portions are preferably frusto-conical in outline, although under certain conditions, these portions might be made in the shape of threaded cylinders.

It willbe noted -(Fig. 11') that the housing wall of chamber'240 closely surrounds the conveyors to prevent the grease from by-passing the threads ofthe screw conveyor portions.

It is obvious that when handle 266 is turned in a clockwise direction, material will be forced'downwardly by the blades 272 and by the inter'meshing screws outwardly throng port 278 and conduit 280 to any outlet which s may be desired.

' While I have illustrated and described somewhat in detail several preferred embodi- 'ments and modifications. of my invention, it

is evident that the elements may be interchanged as, for example, the double spiral may be substituted in the motor driven embodimentor the pedal operated mechanis'mmay be used for the double spiral conveyor type, and it is understood that I am not limited to the specific details shown except as defined by the following claims.

I claim I 1. A grease dispensing device includinga chamber, grease advancing :means therein,

1 an outlet adjacent one end of said chamber, av

high pressure discharge cylinder "supplied 1 clutch, and. control means operable upon .a

with lubricant from said end of said chamher, a resilient accumulator chamber below.

said grease advancing means communicatm with said chamber at a point adjacent sai outlet, and a dischar e conduit extending .said chamber, a plurality of inclined blades mounted on said shaft in the funnel-shaped opening of said chamber, a spiral conveyor on said shaft in said chamber below said blades,

a discharge cylinder communicating with said discharge port, an outlet 'conduit extending from said cylinder, a piston in said cylin er, and unitary operating means for alternately advancing said piston and revolving said shaft.

3. In a grease dispensing apparatus, a vertical cylindrical chamber having a funnelshaped opening for admission of grease and a discharge port near its lower end, a vertically disposed shaft journaled centrally of said chamber, a pluralit mounted onzsaid sha t in the funnel-shaped of inclined blades opening of said chamber, a spiral conveyor on said shaft in said chamber below said blades, a discharge cylinder communicating with said discharge port, a piston reciprocablein said cylinder and having a rod ex tending downwardly therefrom, a lever for operating said piston rod, said lever having a pedal portion thereon, a spring for moving said lever upon its return stroke, an arm extending from said lever, a pawl attached to said arm, and a ratchet'whee'l on the lower end of said shaft cooperating with'said pawl whereby the operation of said lever alternately advances said piston and rotates said shaft.

4. In a lubricating apparatus of the class described, the combination of a lubricant con tainer, a hi h pressure cylinder, a piston reciprocable t erein, rotatable means for feed: in lubricant from said container to said cyl- .in er, common means for rotating said last said high pressure cylinder to disenga'ge'said clutch.

.5. In lubricating apparatus of the class described, the combination of alubri'cant container, a high pressure cylinder, a piston 'reciprocable therein, rotatable means for' feedin lubricant from said container to said cylin er, common driving means for rotating saidlast named means and reciprocating said piston, a-motor, a clutchfor connecting said motor to said drlving means, lu-brac anltpressure operated means for} disengaging. said predetermined maximum pressure of the lubricant discharged from said cylinder to rensaid compressor, a valved discharge conduit leading from said compressor, a control piston and cylinder, means connecting said cylinder with said discharge conduit, lubricant pressure operated clutch disengaging means, a valve for controlling the flow of lubricant from said discharge conduit to said last named means, and lubricant pressure controlled means for operating said valve.

7. In an apparatus of the class described, a lubricant container, a high pressure pump in communication therewith, a motor for operating said pump, control means for said motor, said control means including a lubricant pressure operated piston and cylinder, valve means for admitting lubricant under pressure from said pump to said cylinder for operating said piston, a valve controlling piston and cylinder in communication with said 4 1 pump and supplied with lubricant therefrom,

a lost motion connection between said control piston and said valve, and means controlled by said valve for permitting discharge of lubricant from said first named cylinder to said container.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 4th day of October, 1929.

ERNEST W. DAVIS. 

